Being The Only Indonesian Representative At The 2021 BWF World Championship, Dejan/Serena Given Realistic Targets

Dejan Ferdinand/Serena (Instagram @Kani dejanfz)

JAKARTA - The participation of Dejan Ferdinansyah/Serena Kani in the 2021 BWF World Championships is accompanied by PB Djarum's realistic attitude about the targets for his players in the mixed doubles number.

As the badminton club that houses Dejan/Serena, PB Djarum sees the competition in the World Championship which will take place on December 12-19 in Huelva, Spain will be very tight.

"As for the target, I personally want (they) to win. But this is a World Championship, so it must be realistic", said PB Administrative Coordinator Djarum, Lius Pongoh, to Antara on Wednesday.

Moreover, the mixed doubles, ranked 97 in the world, will be the only representative of the Red and White in the prestigious event that has entered the 26th edition of the event. Therefore, Dejan/Serena's struggle will be even more difficult because they have to fight alone.

According to Lius, PB Djarum only encourages Dejan/Serena to play and perform optimally in the World Championships.

"Hopefully they can maximize their abilities, because only two athletes from PB Djarum have qualified for the World Championships", said Lius.

Previously, surprising news came from Pelatnas PBSI with the decision to withdraw from the tournament called the 2021 BWF World Championship.

The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI), which was strengthened by 13 representatives, including top athletes, had to resign for reasons of security and safety of the national team in the midst of the spread of the new variant of the COVID-19 Omicron virus.

This big decision was taken by the General Chairperson of The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PP PBSI), Agung Firman Sampurna, after going through discussions and input from the management and trainers. PP PBSI assessed that the spread of the Omicron variant was erratic, which was the main reason behind this withdrawal.

"We don't want to take any risks. The safety and health of athletes are more important. We have also discussed the players and they agreed to withdraw from the World Championships", said the Head of Development and Achievement of The Central Board of the Indonesian Badminton Association, Rionny Mainaky, in his official statement.